Decorating Style May Not Yield Clue

"Basically, what I like and who I am can be found in my room," says Sara Romero, a senior at the College Academy @ BCC.

Her leopard-print comforter, dark walls plastered with band posters, and closet full of concert tees and Converse sneakers are a reflection of her unique personality.

But if a stranger were to waltz into your room and sift through your things, could that person make a fair judgment of your personality?

"You can't judge a person ... based on their room or possessions," said St. Thomas Aquinas senior Nick Romanelli.

His would be a case of mistaken identity mainly, he said, because his mom decorated (and continues to clean) his room.

"If someone were to walk in my room, they would notice all the old European paintings and my wooden bed, which is older than my dad," he said, "and this would make them think I was some old European guy."

The real Nick is a slightly messy music lover.

Jacelyne Garcia, a senior at Archbishop McCarthy High, also thinks her room is not an accurate representation of who she is. "I consider myself a decent, mature person," she said. "But the second you walk into my room ... it's a total mess."

Her room, which she said is full of haphazardly strewn clothes and books, would make her seem more like a sloppy mess ("I find empty water bottles in the most random places," she said) than the accomplished musician she is.

Romanelli admitted: "For the most part, it is true that you can tell what a person's interests and hobbies are from looking at what they have in their room. But you can't use that to judge someone's personality because there are way too many factors that come into play."